BH3a 


DEPARTMENT  OF  COMMERCE 

HERBERT  HOOVER,  SECRETARY 


A  ZONING  PRIMER 

BY 

THE  ADVISORY  COMMITTEE 
ON  ZONING 

APPOINTED  BY  SECRETARY  HOOVER 


CHARLES  B.  BALL Secretary  Treasurer,  City  Planning  Division, 

Sanitary  Engineer.  American  Society  of  Civil  Engineers. 

EDWARD  M.  BASSETT Counsel,  Zoning  Committee  of  New  York. 

Lawyer. 

ALFRED  BETTMAN Director,  National  Conference  on  City  Planning. 

Lawyer. 

IRVING  B.  HIETT Ex-President,  National  Association  of  Real 

Realtor.  Estate  Boards. 

JOHN  IHLDER Manager,  Civic  Development  Department  of  the 

Housing  Consultant.  Chamber  of  Commerce  of  the  United  States. 

MORRIS  KNOWLES From  the  Chamber  of  Commerce  of  the  United 

Consulting  Engineer.  States;  Chairman,  City  Planning  Division, 

American  Society  of  Civil  Engineers. 

J.  HORACE  McFARLAND Ex-President,  The  American  Civic  Association. 

Master  Printer  and  Civic  Investigator. 

FREDERICK  LAW  OLMSTED Ex-President,  The  American  Society  of  Land- 
Landscape  Architect.  scape  Architects;  Ex-President,  American 

City  Planning  Institute. 

LAWRENCE  VEILLER Secretary  and  Director,  The  National  Housing 

Housing  Expert.  Association. 


JOHN  M.  GRIES 


Chief,  Division  of  Building  and  Housing,  Bureau  of  Standards 
Department  of  Commerce 


[Revised  Edition,  1926] 

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SOLD  ONLY  BY  THE  SUPERINTENDENT  OF  DOCUMENTS 
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WASHINGTON 
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1926 


Th 


CONTENTS 


Page 

What  is  zoning? 1 

Why  do  we  need  zoning? 1 

Zoning  protects  property  and  health 2 

Zoning  reduces  the  cost  of  living 2 

Zoning  is  legal 3 

How  to  get  started 4 

A  zoning  program _ 5 

What  cities  and  towns  have  accomplished  by  zoning 6 

Where  to  get  information . 7 

Zoned  municipalities 8 

ii 


A  ZONING  PRIMER 


WHAT  IS  ZONING? 

Zoning  is  the  application  of  common  sense  and  fairness  to  the 
public  regulations  governing  the  use  of  private  real  estate.  It  is  a 
painstaking,  honest  effort  to  provide  each  district  or  neighborhood, 
as  nearly  as  practicable,  with  just  such  protection  and  just  such  lib- 
erty as  are  sensible  in  that  particular  district.  It  avoids  the  error 
of  trying  to  apply  exactly  the  same  building  regulations  to  every 
part  of  a  city  or  town  regardless  of  whether  it  is  a  suburban  resi- 
dence section,  or  a  factory  district,  or  a  business  and  financial  center. 
It  fosters  civic  spirit  by  creating  confidence  in  the  justice  and  sta- 
bility of  the  protection  afforded. 

Zoning  gives  everyone  who  lives  or  does  business  in  a  community 
a  chance  for  the  reasonable  enjoyment  of  his  rights.  At  the  same 
time  it  protects  him  from  unreasonable  injury  by  neighbors  who 
would  seek  private  gain  at  his  expense. 

Zoning  regulations  differ  in  different  districts  according  to  the 
determined  uses  of  the  land  for  residence,  business,  or  manufacturing, 
and  according  to  the  advisable  heights  and  ground  areas. 

But  these  differing  regulations  are  the  sa.me  for  all  districts  of  the 
same  type.     They  treat  all  men  alike. 

WHY  DO  WE  NEED  ZONING? 

Some  one  has  asked,  "  Does  your  city  keep  its  gas  range  in  the 
parlor  and  its  piano  in  the  kitchen  ?  "  That  is  what  many  an 
American  city  permits  its  household  to  do  for  it. 

We  know  what  to  think  of  a  household  in  which  an  undisciplined 
daughter  makes  fudge  in  the  parlor,  in  which  her  sister  leaves  soiled 
clothes  soaking  in  the  bathtub,  while  father  throws  his  muddy  shoes 
on  the  stairs,  and  little  Johnny  makes  beautiful  mud  pies  on  the 
front  steps. 

Yet  many  American  cities  do  the  same  sort  of  thing  when  they 
allow  stores  to  crowd  in  at  random  among  private  dwellings,  and 
factories  and  public  garages  to  come  elbowing  in  among  neat  retail 
stores  or  well-kept  apartment  houses.  Cities  do  no  better  when 
they  allow  office  buildings  so  tall  and  bulky  and  so  closely  crowded 
that  the  lower  floors  not  only  become  too  dark  and  unsatisfactory 
for  human  use  but  for  that  very  reason  fail  to  earn  a  fair  cash  return 
to  the  individual*  investors. 

"  Live  and  let  live  "  is  a  better  motto  for  the  modern  city  than 
the  savage  one  of  "  dog  eat  dog." 

It  is  this  stupid,  wasteful  jumble  which  zoning  will  prevent  and 
gradually  correct.    We  must  remember,  however,  that  while  zoning 

2890°— 26 


2  A  ZONING  PRIMER 

is  a  very  important  part  of  city  planning,  it  should  go  hand  in  hand 
with  planning  streets  and  providing  for  parks  and  playgrounds  and 
other  essential  features  of  a  well-equipped  city.  Alone  it  is  no  uni- 
versal panacea  for  all  municipal  ills,  but  as  part  of  a  larger  pro- 
gram it  pays  the  city  and  the  citizens  a  quicker  return  than  any  other 
form  of  civic  improvement. 

ZONING  PROTECTS  PROPERTY  AND  HEALTH 

Suppose  you  have  just  bought  some  land  in  a  neighborhood  of 
homes  and  built  a  cozy  little  house.  There  are  two  vacant  lots 
south  of  you.  If  your  town  is  zoned,  no  one  can  put  up  a  large 
apartment  house  on  those  lots,  overshadowing  your  home,  stealing 
your  sunshine  and  spoiling  the  investment  of  20  years'  saving.  Nor 
is  anyone  at  liberty  to  erect  a  noisy,  malodorous  public  garage  to 
keep  you  awake  nights  or  to  drive  you  to  sell  out  for  half  of  what  you 
put  into  your  home. 

If  a  town  is  zoned,  property  values  become  more  stable,  mortgage 
companies  are  more  ready  to  lend  money,  and  more  houses  can  be 
built. 

A  zoning  law,  if  enacted  in  time,  prevents  an  apartment  house 
from  becoming  a  giant  airless  hive,  housing  human  beings  like 
crowded  bees.  It  provides  that  buildings  may  not  be  so  high  and 
so  close  that  men  and  women  must  work  in  rooms  never  freshened 
by  sunshine  or  lighted  from  the  open  sky. 

ZONING  REDUCES  THE  COST  OF  LIVING 

By  zoning,  millions  of  waste  from  the  scrapping  of  buildings  in 
"  blighted  districts  "  may  be  eliminated. 

A  "  blighted  district  "  is  a  district,  originally  developed  for  resi- 
dence, business,  or  industry,  in  the  future  of  which  people  have  lost 
confidence. 

The  causes  of  such  "  blight "  are  manifold.  The  most  familiar 
case  is  that  of  a  residential  district  into  which  there  have  begun  to 
creep  various  uses  threatening  rapid  destruction  of  its  value  for  resi- 
dences^— such  new  uses  as  sporadic  stores,  or  factories,  or  junk  yards. 
It  is  not  that  a  few  such  inappropriate  uses  really  spoil  the  district, 
but  that  people  having  lost  confidence,  start  a  panic  like  a  "  run  on 
the  bank."  Hundreds  of  them  hurry  up  to  "  unload  "  their  proper- 
ties at  a  sacrifice  for  any  kind  of  use,  no  matter  how  objectionable 
to  their  neighbors — and  the  "  blight "  is  on !  Dwellings  worth  in 
the  aggregate  millions  of  dollars  for  the  purposes  for  which  they 
were  built,  and  physically  fit  to  serve  those  purposes  for  many  years 
to  come,  with  a  moderate  investment  in  alterations  and  improve- 
ments, are  thus  annually  abandoned  to  purposes  for  which  they  are 
not  fit,  or  are  left  to  stand  practically  idle.  Expensive  public  serv- 
ices of  water,  gas,  electricity,  sewers,  and  transportation  are  main- 
tained at  great  waste  in  order  to  get  through  the  "  biighted  "  district 
to  the  more  distant  and  newly  fashionable  location. 

The  total  economic  loss  is  enormous,  and  this  loss  and  the  risk  of 
it  are  paid  by  the  people,  in  the  price  of  house  rents  or  otherwise, 
as  inevitably  as  they  pay  the  price  of  the  enormous  fire  losses,  either 
directly  or  through  insurance. 

Proper  zoning  cuts  these  losses  at  their  source,  just  as  proper  build- 
ing regulations  and  fire  protection  cut  fire  losses  at  their  source.  ' 


A  ZONING  PRIMER 


3 


Again,  miles  of  streets  and  sewers  and  other  utilities,  such  as  are 
ordinarily  built  when  land  is  newly  subdivided  for  dwellings,  need 
never  be  constructed  if  we  know  that  these  areas  will  be  devoted 
mainly  to  large  factories.  Industry  will  be  more  efficient,  as  well  as 
homes  more  wholesome,  if  kept  generally  separate.  Separation  need 
not  mean  great  distances  for  workers  to  travel.  Concentration  of 
uses  and  a  fair  apportioning  of  districts  should  reduce  the  amount 
of  all  transportation  and  secure  economies  not  only  directly  for  the 
worker  but  indirectly  in  the  costs  of  production  and  marketing  of 
goods. 

//  zoning  can  reduce  the  cost  of  living,  why  not  have  it? 


WASTE  IN  CITY  BUILDING ! 


[  Illustration  by  courtesy  of  the  Cleveland  City  Plan  Commission  ] 

Owing  to  haphazard  city  growth  hundreds  of  perfectly 
good  buildings  go  to  the  dump  each  year. 


ZONING  IS  LEGAL 

When  a  zoning  law  is  properly  drawn  there  is  no  doubt  that  the 
''courts  will  support  it.  Enough  favorable  decisions  have  been  handed 
down  to  show  that  the  courts  regard  regulation  of  the  uses  of  land 
and  structures  thereon,  in  accordance  with  the  kind  of  district  in 
which  they  are  situated,  as  a  reasonable  exercise  of  the  police  power 
"  for  the  public  health,  safety,  and  general  welfare." 

In  fact,  the  courts  have  approved  zoning  whenever  it  was  done 
sensibly  and  comprehensively.  The  first  case  arose  in  Boston,  Mass., 
where  two  different  heights  for  future  buildings  were  fixed  through- 


4  A  ZONING  TBTMEE. 

out  the  city.  This  was  supported  by  the  highest  court  of  Massachu- 
setts and  the  United  States  Supreme  Court.  (Welch  v.  Swasey,  214 
TJ.  S.  91.) 

The  next  important  case  arose  in  Los  Angeles,  Calif.,  where,  under 
a  zoning  plan  dividing  the  city  into  industrial  and  residential  dis- 
tricts, a  brickyard  in  a  residential  district  was  ousted,  although  it  had 
been  in  existence  for  many  years.  This  was  upheld  by  the  California 
courts  and  also  by  the  United  States  Supreme  Court  as  a  proper  exer- 
cise of  the  police  power.  Modern  zoning  ordinances  are  not  retro- 
active, however.     (Hadacheck  v.  Sebastian,  239  U.  S.  394.) 

In  New  York  State  the  highest  court  has  declared  the  zoning  of 
New  York  City  to  be  constitutional,  stating  that  zoning  can  be 
done  under  the  police  power  if  done  with  care  and  good  judgment 
so  as  not  to  be  arbitrary  or  confiscatory.  (Lincoln  Trust  Co.  v. 
Williams  Building  Corporation,  229  N.  Y.  313.) 

Eecent  decisions  of  some  of  the  highest  State  courts  show  how 
widely  and  strongly  comprehensive  zoning  is  approved.  It  has  been 
upheld  by  the  highest  and  appellate  courts  of  New  York,  Louisiana, 
California,  Wisconsin,  Massachusetts,  Kansas,  Ohio,  Minnesota, 
Illinois,  and  Oregon. 

Exclusion  of  stores  from  residence  districts. — Spector  v.  Town  of 
Milton,  250  Mass.  63 ;  145  N.  E.  Kep.  265.  Zahn  v.  Board  of  Public 
Works  of  Los  Angeles,  234  Pac.  Kep.  388. 

Area  and  height  restrictions  in  residence  districts. — Pritz  v. 
Messer,  113  Ohio  State  Eep.  89 ;  149  N.  E.  Eep.  30. 

Exclusion  of  two-family  houses  or  multifamily  houses  in  certain 
districts. — Brett  v.  Building  Commissioner  of  Brookline,  250  Mass. 
73;  145  N.  E.  Kep.  269.  Miller  v.  Board  of  Public  Works  of  Los 
Angeles,  234  Pac.  Kep.  381. 

HOW  TO  GET  STARTED 

Enabling  act. — Before  any  community  undertakes  zoning  it  must 
make  sure  that  it  has  the  power  to  pass  a  zoning  ordinance.  A  gen- 
eral State  enabling  act  passed  by  the  State  legislature  is  always 
desirable,  and  while  the  power  to  zone  may,  in  some  States,  be 
derived  from  constitutional,  as  distinguished  from  statutory,  home 
rule,  still  it  is  seldom  that  the  home-rule  powers  will  cover  all  the 
necessary  provisions  for  successful  zoning.  The  United  States  De- 
partment of  Commerce  has  issued  A  Standard  State  Zoning  Enabling 
Act  which  contains  all  provisions  needed.  This  standard  act  has 
been  the  basis  of  legislation  in  the  following  States,  though  in  some 
cases  it  applies  only  to  certain  classes  of  cities : 


Arizona.                                 Louisiana. 

Oklahoma. 

Colorado.                               Nevada. 

Pennsylvania. 

Delaware.                               New  Hampshire. 

Rhode  Island. 

Idaho.                                     New  Jersey. 

South  Carolina. 

Illinois.                                   North  Carolina. 

Utah. 

Iowa.                                      North  Dakota. 

Wyoming. 

Zoning  is  also  authorized  in  the  following  States : 

Alabama.                               Kentucky. 

Nebraska. 

Arkansas.                              Maine. 

New  York. 

California.                              Massachusetts. 

Ohio. 

Connecticut.                           Michigan. 

Oregon. 

District  of  Columbia.            Minnesota. 

Texas. 

Indiana.                                 Mississippi. 

Virginia. 

Kansas.                                  Missouri. 

Wisconsin. 

A  ZONING  PRIMER  5 

Acts  applying  to  a  particular  city  or  cities  are  in  effect  in  Florida, 
Georgia,  Maryland,  Tennessee,  and  Washington.  Several  of  those 
in  Florida  and  Georgia  are  based  on  the  Department  of  Commerce 
standard  act. 

Zoning  commission. — There  must  be  some  local  official  body  to 
initiate  the  work  of  zoning.  If  there  is  a  planning  board  or  com- 
mission, that  is  the  logical  body  to  take  up  the  problem.  If  there  is 
no  such  body,  one  should  be  created,  because  zoning,  to  be  done  with 
wise  foresight,  must  take  account  not  only  of  existing  conditions 
and  obvious  tendencies  of  growth  but  of  probable  changes  and  im- 
provements of  many  sorts.  It  is  part  of  the  general  planning  prob- 
lem. It  relates  to  the  transportation  system,  including  streets,  street 
railways  and  other  local  passenger  transportation,  railroad  freight 
and  passenger  service,  and  water-borne  commerce,  if  any.  It  relates 
also  to  public  works  and  utilities,  to  parks,  schools,  and  many  special 
public  and  private  undertakings. 

A  ZONING  PROGRAM 

Surveys. — A  zoning  ordinance  needs  to  be  based  on  a  comprehen- 
sive and  detailed  study  of  the  precise  local  conditions,  both  present 
and  prospective.  What  fits  one  city  or  town  may  be  a  bad  misfit 
for  another.  There  is  no  short  cut  to  good  zoning  in  any  com- 
munity through  blindly  accepting  what  has  been  done  for  another 
community.  The  only  safe  path  is  a  thorough,  open-minded  ex- 
amination of  the  facts  in  each  community  as  to  existing  uses,  exist- 
ing densities,  and  heights  of  buildings,  the  customs  of  the  people, 
and  the  trend  of  affairs.  In  every  city  there  are  citizens  and  or- 
ganizations having  in  their  possession  valuable  knowledge  of  local 
conditions.  These  have  a  large  contribution  to  make  to  those  re- 
sponsible for  zoning,  although  those  who  have  lived  their  whole 
lives  in  a  community  do  not  necessarily  realize  all  that  is  going  on 
about  them. 

The  zoning  of  a  city  requires  expert  professional  knowledge  just 
as  the  presentation  of  a  case  in  court  requires  legal  training.  But 
just  as  the  lawyer  depends  upon  the  layman  to  secure  his  facts,  so 
must  the  professional  zoning  expert  call  upon  the  citizens  for  much 
of  the  accurate  information  upon  which  any  good  zoning  regulations 
must  be  based. 

Technical  advice. — The  practice  of  zoning  is  relatively  new  in 
America.  We  are  feeling  our  way  and  must  learn  by  experience. 
Those  who  have  had  experience  tend  to  become  expert,  with  broader 
knowledge  of  practices  that  are  proving  effective.  These  men  are 
becoming  gradually  more  skilled  in  the  methods  of  getting  at  the 
essential  facts  of  any  local  situation  and  in  the  interpretation  of 
those  facts.  If  they  possess  insight  and  sane  judgment,  their  advice 
becomes  increasingly  valuable. 

Scope  of  a  zoning  ordinance. — A  zoning  ordinance  consists  of  one 
or  more  maps  dividing  the  city  into  different  kinds  of  districts ;  and 
a  statement  of  methods  of  regulation  to  be  employed  in  each  district 
in  regard  to  the  use  to  which  property  may  be  put,  the  height  and 
size  of  buildings,  and  the  amount  of  space  to  be  left  vacant,  with 
adequate  provisions  for  enforcement. 


6  A  ZONING   PRIMEE 

Importance  of  correct  procedure. — Certain  points  in  procedure 
have  proved  themselves  workable  as  practical  steps  for  securing 
carefully  drawn  zoning  measures,  and  ordinances  so  adopted  are 
less  liable  to  attack  in  the  courts.  These  points  are  set  forth  in 
the  standard  enabling  act  of  the  Department  of  Commerce,  with 
the  aim  of  encouraging  proper  satisfactory  measures  well  within  the 
police  power.     The  most  important  of  them  are : 

1.  Proper  definition  of  the  purposes  for  which  zoning  may  be 
undertaken. 

2.  Uniformity  of  regulations  for  each  class  or  kind  of  buildings 
throughout  each  district. 

3.  The  appointment  and  functioning  of  a  zoning  commission. 

4.  The  careful  preparation  of  regulations  with  reference  to  the 
character  of  the  district  and  its  peculiar  suitability  for  particular 
uses. 

5.  The  holding  of  public  hearings. 

6.  The  method  of  changing  the  ordinance. 

7.  Rules  for  establishing  a  board  of  adjustment. 

8.  Provision  for  adequate  remedies  against  violations  of  the  ordi- 
nance. 

Getting  public  support. — In  the  process  of  drafting  a  tentative 
ordinance  it  is  important,  by  means  of  full  public  discussion,  to  be 
sure  that  the  ordinance  is  an  "  application  of  common  sense  and 
fairness  "  and  will  "  provide  each  district,  as  nearly  as  practicable, 
with  just  such  protection  and  just  such  liberty  as  are  sensible  in 
that  particular  district."  It  is  essential  likewise  to  be  sure  that 
public  opinion,  as  a  whole,  will  support  it. 

Zoning  in  operation. — A  zoning  ordinance  is  of  value  only  as  it 
is  properly  enforced.  Because  of  the  difficulty  in  making  with  pre- 
cision the  forecasts  on  which  it  is  based,  its  operation  should  be 
closely  followed  by  those  who  most  intimately  understand  the  rea- 
sons for  its  provisions.  Thus,  improvements  and  adjustments  may 
from  time  to  time  be  made  intelligently.  It  is  to  furnish  in  excep- 
tional cases  a  means  for  remedying  possible  injustice  that,  in  the 
standard  act  and  in  some  other  State  laws,  provision  is  made  for  a 
board  of  adjustment  or  appeals. 

It  is  obvious  from  the  nature  of  the  case  that,  even  if  a  zoning 
ordinance  were  drawn  with  superhuman  perfection,  time  and  the 
natural  growth  of  the  community  might  show  the  need  of  modifica- 
tions. The  purpose  of  a  zoning  ordinance  is  not  to  stifle  growth, 
but  only  to  insure  that  instead  of  taking  place  sporadically  and 
wastefully  it  shall  go  on  in  an  orderly  way,  in  response  to  generally 
recognized  needs  and  with  due  notice  to  all  concerned. 

WHAT  CITIES  AND  TOWNS  HAVE  ACCOMPLISHED  BY  ZONING 

Undoubtedly  the  most  convincing  statement  which  could  be  made 
in  regard  to  the  value  of  zoning  is  that  practically  all  the  large  cities 
of  the  United  States  now  feel  that  it  is  impossible  to  continue  to 
develop  further  without  the  adoption  of  a  building  zone  plan.  New 
York,  Chicago,  Boston,  Baltimore,  Pittsburgh,  Los  Angeles,  Buffalo, 
and  San  Francisco  head  the  list  of  the  large  cities  that  already  have 
zoning  ordinances  in  operation.  On  January  1,  1926,  48  of  the  68 
largest  cities  in  the  United  States,  having  in  1920  a  population  of 


A  ZONING   PRIMER  / 

more  than  100,000  each,  had  adopted  zoning  ordinances,  while  most 
of  the  others  had  zoning  plans  in  progress.  Moreover,  it  is  not  alone 
our  larger  cities  which  realize  the  necessity  for  timely  regulation  of 
the  uses  of  property.  Hundreds  of  the  smaller  cities  and  towns, 
especially  in  California,  Illinois,  Massachusetts,  New  Jersey,  New 
York,  Ohio,  Pennsylvania,  Wisconsin,  but  also  in  many  other  States, 
have  passed  zoning  ordinances  and  hundreds  more  were  reported  as 
having  zoning  plans  in  progress. 

In  fact,  on  January  1,  1926,  the  426  zoned  municipalities  in  the 
United  States  had  a  total  of  more  than  27,000,000  inhabitants,  ex- 
ceeding half  the  total  urban  population  of  the  United  States.  Thus 
a  majority  of  all  people  living  in  incorporated  places  with  2,500  or 
more  people  now  enjoy  the  protection  and  other  benefits  of  zoning. 
On  January  1,  1921,  there  were  only  35  zoned  cities  and  towns,  with 
less  than  11,000,000  population,  so  that  in  a  period  of  five  years  the 
number  of  zoned  municipalities  increased  more  than  twelvefold. 

Actual  experience  with  zoning  regulations  has  brought  to  light 
certain  striking  facts. 

It  is  stated  on  reliable  authority  that  the  New  York  zoning  regu- 
lations have  prevented  vast  depreciation  in  many  districts  and  ef- 
fected savings  in  values  amounting  to  millions  of  dollars  in  estab- 
lished sections.  Certain  districts  have  been  rehabilitated  as  a  direct 
result  of  the  zoning  ordinance.  Another  interesting  result  has  been 
the  production  of  a  type  of  high  building  believed  to  be  far  better 
than  the  former  elongated  match-box  type. 

To  avoid  the  common  condition  that  industrial  plants  encounter 
of  having  to  do  business  on  a  "  residential  basis,"  denied  large-scale 
facilities  in  their  vicinity  on  account  of  protests  by  residence  owners, 
Alameda,  Calif.,  among  other  cities,  has  established  industrial  zones 
in  which  no  new  permits  to  build  residences  will  be  granted.  A 
leading  municipal  engineer  is  quoted  as  saying  that  the  prohibition 
of  residences  in  industrial  zones  is  one  of  the  most  important  pro- 
tections to  put  in  a  zoning  ordinance.  This  method  is  being  relied 
upon  to  develop  Hoboken,  N.  J.,  as  a  great  industrial  terminal. 

In  a  number  of  suburban  areas  located  in  large  metropolitan  dis- 
tricts it  has  been  found  that  the  unzoned  suburban  town  is  at  a  dis- 
tinct disadvantage  as  compared  with  the  community  protected  by  a 
zoning  ordinance.  People  are  asking  themselves  why  they  should 
invest  money  in  a  home  or  lend  money  on  a  mortgage  in  an  unpro- 
tected, unzoned  locality.  The  zoned  towns  are  actually  absorbing  the 
better  grade  of  development.  The  result  has  been  that  builders, 
architects,  and  real  estate  owners  in  unzoned  towns  are  persistently 
urging  their  local  councils  to  adopt  zoning,  so  that  they  may  have 
as  good  a  selling  proposition  to  offer  prospective  clients  as  their  com- 
petitors in  the  zoned  towns. 

WHERE  TO  GET  INFORMATION 

The  Division  of  Building  and  Housing  of  the  Department  of  Com- 
merce at  Washington,  D.  C,  maintains  a  current  list  of  zoned  munici- 
palities (supplementing  those  which  are  listed  in  the  following  pages) 
and  of  zoning  enabling  acts  passed  by  State  legislatures.  The  divi- 
sion is  always  glad  to  answer  inquiries  in  its  field  of  work,    A.  list 


8 


A   ZONING   PBIMER 


of  the  publications  of  the  Department  of  Commerce  relating  to  hous- 
ing, zoning,  building  codes,  plumbing  codes,  and  home  ownership  is 
obtainable  on  application. 

ZONED  MUNICIPALITIES 

The  following  cities,  towns,  villages,  and  other  incorporated  places 
were  known  to  have  zoning  regulations  in  effect  January  1,  1926: 


ALABAMA 

Montgomery. 

ARKANSAS 

Little  Rock. 
Pine  Bluff. 

CALIFORNIA 

Alameda. 

Albany. 

Bakersfield. 

Berkeley. 

Burbank. 

Burlingame. 

Coronado. 

Fresno. 

Glendale. 

Inglewood. 

Long  Beach. 

Los  Angeles. 

Mayfield. 

Monrovia. 

Oakland. 

Palo  Alto. 

Pasadena. 

Petaluma. 

Piedmont. 

Pittsburg. 

Pomona. 

Reclondo  Beach. 

Redwood  City. 

Richmond. 

Riverside. 

Sacramento. 

San  Buenaventura. 

San  Diego. 

San  Francisco. 

San  Gabriel. 

San  Leandro. 

San  Mateo. 

San  Rafael. 

Santa  Barbara. 

Santa  Clara. 

Santa  Cruz. 

Santa  Monica. 

Selma. 

Sierra  Madre. 

South  Pasadena. 

South  San  Francisco. 

Stockton. 

Torrance. 

Turlock. 

Venice. 

Visalia. 

Whittier. 


COLORADO 

Colorado  Springs. 

Denver. 

Pueblo. 

CONNECTICUT      . 

Enfield. 
Fairfield. 
Hartford. 
New  Britain. 
Norwich. 
West  Hartford. 

DELAWARE 

Wilmington. 

DISTRICT     OF     COLUMBIA 

Washington. 

FLORIDA 

Bradentown. 

Jacksonville. 

Orlando. 

St.  Augustine. 

GEORGIA 


Atlanta. 
Savannah. 

ILLINOIS 

Aurora. 

Batavia. 

Berwyn. 

Carbondale. 

Chicago. 

Cicero. 

Decatur. 

Deerfield. 

Des  Plaines. 

Downers  Grove. 

Elmhurst. 

Evanston. 

Glencoe. 

Glen  Ellyn. 

Highland  Park. 

Hinsdale. 

Ken  il  worth. 

La  Grange. 

Lake  Bluff. 

Lake  Forest. 

Lyons. 

Maywood. 


Illinois — continued 

Mount  Prospect. 

Naperville. 

Oak  Park. 

Palos  Park. 

Park  Ridge. 

River  Forest. 

Riverside. 

Rockford. 

Springfield. 

Villa  Park. 

Waukegan. 

Western  Springs. 

Wheaton. 

Wilmette. 

Winnetka. 

INDIANA 

Anderson. 

Elkhart. 

Evansville. 

Gary. 

Indianapolis. 

Kokomo. 

Mishawaka. 

Muncie. 

Richmond. 

South  Bend. 

Terre  Haute. 

Valparaiso. 

IOWA 

Ames. 

Cedar  Rapids- 
Davenport 
Iowa  City. 
Red  Oak. 
Waterloo. 

KANSAS 

Hutchinson. 

Kansas  City. 

Manhattan. 

Salina. 

Topeka. 

Wichita. 

LOUISIANA 

Shreveport. 

MARYLAND 

Baltimore. 


A   ZONING  PRIMER 


MASSACHUSETTS 

Arlington. 

Belmont. 

Boston. 

Brockton. 

Brookline. 

Cambridge. 

Chelsea. 

Dedham. 

Haverhill. 

Holyoke. 

Lexington. 

Longmeadow. 

Lowell. 

Lynn. 

Maiden. 

Medford. 

Melrose. 

Milton. 

Needham. 

New  Bedford. 

Newton. 

North  Adams. 

Paxton. 

Revere. 

Salem. 

Somerville. 

Springfield. 

Stoneham. 

Swampscott. 

Taunton. 

Wakefield. 

Walpole. 

Waltham. 

Wellesley. 

Westfield. 

West  Springfield. 

Winchester. 

Winthrop. 

Woburn. 

Worcester. 

MICHIGAN 

Ann  Arbor. 

Battle  Creek. 

Dearborn. 

East  Grand  Rapids. 

Grand  Haven. 

Grand  Rapids. 

Grandville. 

Grosse  Point. 

Ironwood. 

Jackson. 

Kalamazoo. 

Midland. 

Muskegon. 

Owosso. 

Ypsilanti. 

MINNESOTA 

Duluth. 
Minneapolis. 
St.  Paul. 

MISSOURI 

Kansas  City. 
Richmond  Heights. 
University  City. 
Webster  Groves. 


NEBRASKA 


Fremont. 
Omaha. 


Reno. 


NEW    JERSEY 


Audubon. 

Beachwood. 

Belleville. 

Bloomfield. 

Bogota. 

Boonton. 

Bound  Brook. 

Bradley  Beach. 

Caldwell. 

Cliff  side  Park. 

Clifton. 

Cranf ord  Township. 

Cresskill. 

Deal. 

Demarest. 

Dunellen. 

East  Orange. 

Elizabeth. 

Englewood. 

Fairview. 

Fanwood. 

Fort  Lee. 

Freehold. 

Garwood. 

Glen  Ridge. 

Glen  Rock. 

Hackensack. 

Haworth. 

Hawthorne. 

Highland  Park. 

Hightstown. 

Hoboken. 

Hohokus. 

Irvington. 

Jersey  City. 

Kearny. 

Lakewood. 

Leonia. 

Linden. 

Long  Branch. 

Lyndhurst  Township. 

Madison. 

Maplewood. 

Maywood. 

Merchantville. 

Milburn. 

Montclair. 

Newark. 

New  Brunswick. 

North  Plainfield. 

Nutley. 

Orange. 

Passaic. 

Paterson. 

Plainfield. 

Pompton  Lakes. 

Rahway. 

Ridgefield  Park, 

Ridgewood. 

Eoselle. 


new  jersey — continued 

Roselle  Park. 

Rutherford. 

Seagirt. 

South  Orange  Township. 

Summit. 

Tenafly. 

Totowa. 

Verona. 

Weehawken  Township. 

Westfield. 

West  Hoboken. 

West  Orange. 

West  New  York. 

NEW    YORK 

Albany. 

Auburn. 

Baldwinsville. 

Brightwaters. 

Bronxville. 

Buffalo. 

Cayuga  Heights. 

Cedarhurst. 

Dobbs  Ferry. 

Eastchester  Town. 

East  Rockaway. 

Elmsford. 

Endicott. 

Farmingdale. 

Floral  Park. 

Freeport. 

Fulton. 

Garden  City. 

Glens  Falls. 

Gloversville. 

Great  Neck. 

Greenburgh. 

Harrison. 

Hastings. 

Hempstead. 

Irvington. 

Ithaca. 

Jamestown. 

Kenmore. 

Kingston. 

Larchmont. 

La  Salle. 

Lawrence. 

Long  Beach. 

Lowville. 

Lynbrook. 

Mamaroneck. 

Mamaroneck  Town. 

Mineola. 

Mount  Vernon. 

Newburgh. 

New  Rochelle. 

New  York. 

Niagara  Falls. 

North  Pelham. 

Oneida. 

Ossining. 

Patchogue. 

Pelham. 

Pelham  Manor. 

Penn  Yan. 

Plandome. 


PENN  STATE  UNIVERSITY  LIBRARIES 


10 


A   ZONING   PRIMEK 


ADDDD71ciETb7S 


new  york — continued 

ohio — continued 

RHODE    ISLAND 

Port  Chester. 

Lakewood. 

Cranston. 

Potsdam. 

Lima. 

Newport. 

Rochester. 

Madison. 

Providence. 

Rockville  Center. 

Mansfield. 

Westerly. 

Rome. 

Marion. 

Woonsocket. 

Rye. 

Maumee. 

Saltaire. 

Oakwood. 

SOUTH    CAROLINA 

Sands  Point. 

Toledo. 

Columbia. 

Saratoga  Springs. 

Warren. 

Scarsdale. 

Willoughby. 

TENNESSEE 

Seneca  Falls. 

Worthington. 

Memphis. 

Syracuse. 

Wyoming. 

Tarrytown. 

UTAH 

Troy. 

OKLAHOMA 

Salt  Lake  City. 

Tuckahoe. 

Union  Corners. 

Oklahoma  City. 

VIRGINIA 

Utica. 

Watertown. 

Waverly. 

Tulsa. 

OREGON 

Norfolk. 

Petersburg. 
Richmond. 

White  Plains. 

Medford. 

Suffolk. 

Wilmont. 

Portland. 

Yonkers. 

WASHINGTON 

NORTH    CAROLINA 

PENNSYLVANIA 

Olympia. 

Aldan. 

Seattle. 

Raleigh. 

Beaver. 

Tacoma. 

NORTH    DAKOTA 

Bellevue. 
Ben  Avon. 

WISCONSIN 

Bismarck. 

Chester. 

Appleton. 

Fargo. 

Connellsville. 

Beloit. 

Jamestown. 

Edgewood. 

Cudahy. 

Edgeworth. 

Eau  Claire. 

OHIO 

Emsworth. 

Green  Bay. 

Akron. 

Haverf  ord  Township. 

Janesville. 

Ashtabula. 

Ingram. 

Kenosha. 

Bay  Village. 

Monaca. 

La  Crosse. 

Bexley. 

Monessen. 

Madison. 

Bratenahl. 

Narberth. 

Milwaukee. 

Cincinnati. 

New  Castle. 

Neenah. 

Cleveland  Heights. 

Oil  City. 

Racine. 

Columbus. 

Pittsburgh. 

Shorewood. 

East  Cleveland. 

Scranton. 

Waukesha. 

Euclid  Village. 

Sewickley. 

Wausau. 

Grandview  Heights. 

Swiss  vale. 

Wauwatosa. 

Idlewood. 

Westview. 

West  Allis. 

Cities  reported  zonec 

1  since  January  1,  1926 . 

CONNECTICUT 

IOWA 

NORTH    CAROLINA 

Greenwich. 

Clinton. 
Des  Moines. 

Greensboro. 
High  Point. 

MICHIGAN 

Southern  Pines. 

ILLINOIS 

Holland. 

OHIO 

Dayton. 

MISSOURI 

Hamilton. 

Freeport. 
Homewood. 

St.  Louis. 

PENNSYLVANIA 

Libertyville. 

Bethlehem. 

Mundelein. 

NEBRASKA 

Crafton. 

Lincoln. 

Johnstown. 

INDIANA 

NEW  YORK 

WISCONSIN 

Sheboygan. 

Michigan  City. 

Glen  Cove. 

o 

Two  Rivers. 

1 


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